((Preface, for a brief note about my ratings ... on average, I would expect
a Value resort to score around 4 in each category, a Moderate to score around 6, and a Deluxe to score 8. I'm stingy with 9's and 10's, as well as going more than 2-3 points above the expected score for a given price point. So those 8's and 9's you're seeing, are pretty darned phenomenal, from me!))
My partner and I stayed here in 2001, and were both
very pleased overall; about the only flaw I could possibly point to is the bus service, and it was not a
significant flaw, at all.
We were in a third-floor room, away from any of the pools - which, seeing as we didn't plan to avail ourselves of them, was not a problem at all. The room was nice, quite well cleaned and very tastefully decorated; we had somewhat dreaded being in an "all disney, all the time" atmosphere, but the in-room decor was very understated, not really pushing "oh my god, Disney!!11one!!1" on us. A few nice movie posters, framed, on the walls; I remember one of the room lights, a wall sconce, was done up to look like a box of movie-theater popcorn. A mickey theme, in black and white, worked into the tiles in the bathroom. Tiny little mickey-head icons in the carpet pattern. Otherwise, just a nice, cheery room.
The food court had a pleasingly (and surprisingly) wide selection, and we never really grew tired of eating there - even over the course of a
two week stay (we
badly overestimated the time we'd need
). The prices in 2001 were very reasonable, although they will of course have gone up in the intervening years.
With the advent of the Disney Dining Plans, vacation-planners should keep in mind that this resort (and both of the other All-Star resorts) offers only counter-service meals; for table-service dining, you'll have to head to one of the parks or even one of the other resorts.
And the cast members, from front desk staff, to "mousekeeping" (I love that Disney-fied word), to "just" the folks cleaning tables in the food court ... all of them clearly
enjoyed working there, and helping make guests' time in the World as enjoyable as possible - even enjoying, it seemed to us, going out of their way to do so.
The only real drawback, for those using the busses, was on the return trip in the evenings; at that point in time, the system tended to gt a bit overloaded, and - to be honest, our own fatigue at the end of a long day probably compounded this - the rides seemed to take interminably long, especially as all three All-Star resorts "share" the same busses, which means there are a
lot of people
who needed to use those relatively-few busses. One supposes that having extremely overtired youngsters in tow might make this even more onerous, but even with that, it wasn't truly unpleasant ... just "less than perfect", I suppose is the best description.
As for the public spaces ... gorgeously done. Tons of characters and other icons from the Disney movies we all, young and old, remember from our childhood; the pool nearest the food court, at least when we were there, had a statue of Mickey, as the Sorceror's Apprentice from Fantasia, as it's centerpiece; in the late evenings, after the youngsters had all been tucked in bed (and most of their parents, as well) it would get JUST cool enough for the heated pool to form a layer of mist/fog on it's surface, and the visual effect was quite nice (and photo-worthy).
Overall, to any family and/or fan of Disney movies, I cannot recommend All-Star Movies strongly enough. Don't let the price or the "Value" label fool you: this is not just a cheap, Disney-themed motel; it's simply a way for you and your family to enjoy some Disney Magic, without breaking the bank.